Explaining the gap between McLaren F1 representative Daniel Ricciardo and Lando Norris[F1-Gate .com]

Andreas Seidl, McLaren F1 team representative, explained several reasons why Lando Norris and Daniel Ricciardo had a 37-point difference in the drivers’ rankings.

Lando Norris said he might be fighting behind the field early in the season, but his turnaround with the McLaren F1 has impressed many and has already won the podium.

However, Daniel Ricciardo did not score one point finish for Lando Norris’s five innings and did not match the McLaren F1 team’s ascending curve.

McLaren showed great patience with Daniel Ricciardo in the 2021 season. Despite Ricardo’s only victory on the team, he was 55 points behind his teammate Lando Norris.

Daniel Ricciardo’s Zak Brown didn’t hesitate because he publicly commented on Ricardo’s slump prior to the Monaco Grand Prix.

32-year-old Daniel Ricciardo crashed in Friday’s practice and was sluggish at 14th place in qualifying. He finished 13th in the queued Sunday race.

Andreas Seidl said of Daniel Ricciardo’s performance at the Monaco Grand Prix, “As Daniel himself says, overall he hasn’t felt 100 percent in the car yet. Pushing the car to the absolute limits. This is especially true in qualifying, where is important. “

“He also faces a very strong teammate, Rand. The combination of both is the gap we sometimes see.”

But that’s not because Daniel Ricciardo hasn’t been able to capture MCL36. Andreas Seidl found that Ricardo’s disappointing results at the Spanish Grand Prix were due to car problems.

Lando Norris, who suffered from severe tonsillitis, finished in 8th place and Daniel Ricciardo finished in 12th place.

“In the Barcelona race, it was impossible for Simpri to run at a better pace for Daniel, which had to be analyzed after the race,” said Andreas Seidl.

“There was a problem with the car and it gave an important explanation. We learned from it.”

The larger the gap between the two McLaren F1 drivers, the more speculation about Daniel Ricciardo’s future.

Daniel Ricciardo himself said he plans to run on the McLaren F1 until 2023, when the current contract ends, but Zak Brown has stated that the contract has an termination clause.

Meanwhile, the team is focused on working together to bring Daniel Ricciardo closer to his younger teammates, Andreas Seidl said.

“With Daniel, what we can do with both commitments is to keep working hard on Simpri to find these last percentages.”